The death toll from a magnitude-7.2 earthquake in Haiti soared yesterday as rescuers raced to find survivors amid the rubble ahead of a potential deluge from an approaching tropical storm.
Saturday’s earthquake left at least 1,297 dead and 5,700 injured in the Caribbean island nation, with thousands more displaced from their destroyed or damaged homes. Survivors in some areas were forced to shelter in streets or soccer fields with their few salvaged belongings while overloaded hospitals scrambled to help those who were injured.
Yet the devastation could soon worsen with the coming of Tropical Storm Grace which is predicted to reach Haiti late today or early Tuesday bringing the potential for torrential rain, flooding and landslides. The United States National Hurricane Center forecast four to eight inches (10 to 20 centimetres) of rain in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with up to 15 inches in some southern parts of the island they share.
The earthquake struck the south-western part of the hemisphere’s poorest nation, almost razing some towns and triggering landslides that hampered rescue efforts in a country already grappling with the novel coronavirus pandemic, a presidential assassination and a wave of gang violence.
The epicentre was about 125 kilometres (78 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the US Geological Survey said, and aftershocks continued to jolt the area yesterday.
In the badly damaged coastal town of Les Cayes some families salvaged their few belongings and spent the night at an open-air football pitch. Yesterday morning people lined up to buy what little was available: bananas, avocados and water at a local street market.
Some in the town praised God for surviving the earthquake and many went to the city’s cathedral, which appeared outwardly undamaged even if the priests’ residence was destroyed.
“We only have Jesus now,” said Johanne Dorcely, 58, whose house was destroyed. “If it wasn’t for Jesus, I wouldn’t be able to be here today.”
Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country and said he was rushing aid to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed. A former senator rented a private aeroplane to move injured people from Les Cayes to Port-au-Prince for medical assistance.
“The most important thing is to recover as many survivors as possible under the rubble,” said Henry. “We have learned that the local hospitals, in particular that of Les Cayes, are overwhelmed with wounded, fractured people.”
Yesterday’s count from Haiti’s Office of Civil Protection raised the previous death toll from 304 dead. The agency said more than 7,000 homes were destroyed and nearly 5,000 damaged. Hospitals, schools, offices and churches were also affected.
Hospitals were overwhelmed at a moment when Haiti has been struggling with the pandemic and a lack of resources to deal with it. The country of 11 million people received its first batch of US-donated coronavirus vaccines only last month via a United Nations programme for low-income countries.
Medical workers from across the region were scrambling to help as hospitals in Les Cayes started running out of space to perform surgeries.
“Basically, they need everything,” said Dr Inobert Pierre, a paediatrician with the non-profit Health Equity International which oversees St Boniface Hospital, about two hours from Les Cayes.
“Many of the patients have open wounds and they have been exposed to not-so-clean elements,” added Pierre who visited two hospitals in Les Cayes — one with some 200 patients, the other with around 90. “We anticipate a lot of infections.”
Pierre’s medical team was taking some patients to St Boniface Hospital to undergo surgery, but with just two ambulances they could transport just four patients at a time.
The earthquake also struck just over a month after President Jovenel Moïse was shot to death in his home, sending the country into political chaos. His widow, Martine Moïse, who was seriously wounded in the attack, posted a message on Twitter calling for unity among Haitians: “Let’s put our shoulders together to bring solidarity”.
As he boarded a plane bound for Les Cayes, Henry said he wanted “structured solidarity” to ensure the response was coordinated to avoid the confusion that followed the devastating 2010 earthquake, when aid was slow to reach residents after.
US President Joe Biden authorised an immediate response and named USAID Administrator Samantha Power to oversee the US effort to help Haiti.
Power announced yesterday that USAID was sending a search and rescue team from Virginia at the request of Haiti’s Government. The 65-person team will bring specialised tools and medical supplies to assist with the disaster response, Power said on Twitter.
Working with USAID, the US Coast Guard said a helicopter was transporting medical personnel from the Haitian capital to the quake zone and evacuating the injured back to Port-au-Prince. Lieutenant Commander Jason Nieman, a spokesman, said another helicopter was being sent from The Bahamas, along with other aircraft and ships.
Already on the scene were several members of Cuba’s 253-member health-care mission to Haiti, and the socialist nation’s State media showed photos of them giving first aid to victims injured by the quake.
The North Carolina-based aid group Samaritan’s Purse announced yesterday it would airlift 13 disaster response specialists and 31 tons of emergency supplies to Haiti. Those include shelter materials and water filtration units.
Humanitarian workers said gang activity in the seaside district of Martissant, just west of the Haitian capital, also was complicating relief efforts.